Worst Case Scenario

Last night after the Phillies came back to eliminate the Rockies a terrorizing thought crossed my mind:

What if the Fall Classic turns-out to be the Yankees v. the Phillies?

How could I enjoy a World Series where I couldn't possible want either team to win?

I'm not one of those guys who can watch a game (in any sport) without hitching my wagon to one side or the other, and I certainly could never cheer for the Evil Empire or the Phrauds in Philly.

So, in the interest of wanting to enjoy the Series and for trying to bring bragging rights back to the AL where they belong- I'm officially throwing my hat into the corner of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim near Disney.

CHEESE & WHINE: Upton for the Cycle

Rays: 13

Yankees: 4

CHEESE:

• BJ Upton. Bossman was at the top of his offensive game last night; becoming the first Rays' player ever to hit for the cycle, and it took only 5 innings to do it. Upton finished the night with ridiculous numbers; 5 for 5 with 6 RBI and 3 runs scored. What better way to wash away the stains of a cruddy year then to finish the season by working your way into the franchise history books. The beauty of being the first to do something is that no one can take that away or break that record- it's there to stay, and for the rest of his family's existence BJ's family will always be able to boast that their grandpa/daddy/uncle/brother/son was the first Rays player ever to hit for the cycle.
• David Price. Even without the copious amounts of run-support Price would've won this one, pitching a phenomenal game to wrap up his rookie season. King David lasted 7 innings, allowing just 1 run on 2 hits while striking-out 5 and walking 2. Oh, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if that pitch toward Teixeira's head in the first wasn't courtesy of Carlos Pena's broken finger. Price finishes the year with a record of 10-7 and an ERA of 4.42, not too bad. I guarantee it'll be better next year.
• Ben Zobrist. Here's a shocker, Zobrist had a nice offensive game... again. Hard to believe, I know. Last night Benny-Boo finished up 3 for 5 with 2 RBI.

WHINE:

• Dale Thayer. I know he came-in in a fairly meaningless position, but come on man. Thayer lasted 1 inning, giving-up 2 runs on 2 hits.
• Willy Aybar. 0 for 5 with a K, and get this; 8 men left on base, 8!

CRACKERS:

• Despite scoring 13 , only 2 of the Rays' runs came by way of the homer ( the 2-run homer by Upton in the 4th).

CAVIAR (game ball):

• BJ Upton. Obviously, hitting the team's first ever cycle earns you the Rays The Stakes caviar game ball every time.

Root for The Yankees?

Four words I never envisioned myself saying, or even thinking, but with Boston and New York preparing to square off on a 4-game set I find it most logical to... gulp... root for the Yankees.

Why?
For several reasons actually:

Most importantly, the Rays need to start making up ground in the wildcard hunt, so that means catching Boston and Texas. Even if that means New York starts to run away with the AL East. As things stand now, the Rays have to stop dreaming about retaining their title as AL East Champs and start worrying about finding a way past their mediocre start and into the playoffs.

Plus, look at it this way; if you had to decide between playing at Fenway or New Yankee Homerun Derby Stadium in October which venue would you choose?
I'd say, without a shadow of a doubt, "See ya in the Bronx".
--
Let's dare to dream and say that the Yankees sweep the 4-game set. If that were the case, the standings would have New York at 69-42 and 6.5 games ahead of Boston. Let's also assume that during that 4 day time frame the Rays manage to win 2 out of 3 in Seattle. That would leave Tampa Bay at 62-49, just 1/2 game behind Boston, and left with nearly 20% of their games versus Baltimore.

But on the other hand, if Boston and New York split their series and the Rays manage to win the same 2 out of three in Seattle, that would leave the Rays 2.5 games behind the Sox and 5 games behind New York with exactly 50 games to go-- which isn't horrible either.

The reality is this; the Rays need to pass 2 teams in the standings to make it into the playoffs. Right now those teams are Texas and Boston, so until something changes all Rays fans (in my opinion) should be rooting for whomever those 2 teams are playing against.
The Rays have 6 games against Texas and 6 games against Boston left on the schedule, so they (the Rays) need look no farther than the mirror to see what it'll take to make the post-season, and then all bets are off.

What do you think? Should we be rooting for the Yankees, the Red Sox, or a split?

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Eternal Optimism of a Simple Mind

Everyone knows that I always lean toward the pessimistic side, but today I've turned over a new leaf. Today I present to you the most optimistic outcome of the upcoming 2 weeks that I can possibly fathom while staying within the realm of reality.

I've gone through the schedules for Boston, New York, and of course Tampa for a span of the next 14 games and worked out what I believe could be the possible outcome of each game and have calculated to see where the pieces fall as of May 14th.

TAMPA BAY

Boston	W
Boston	W
Boston	L
Boston	W
Baltimore	W
Baltimore	W
@New York	L
@New York	W
@Boston	W
@Boston	L
@Boston	L
@Baltimore	W
@Baltimore	L
Cleveland	W
Record from 4/30- 5/14	9-5
Overall Record as of May 14th	17-18

BOSTON

@Tampa Bay	L
@Tampa Bay	L
@Tampa Bay	W
@Tampa Bay	L
@New York	W
@New York	L
Cleveland	W
Cleveland	L
Tampa Bay	L
Tampa Bay	W
Tampa Bay	W
LAA	W
LAA	L
LAA	L
Record from 4/30- 5/14	6-8
Overall Record as of May 14th	19-15

NEW YORK

LAA	W
LAA	L
LAA	W
LAA	L
Boston	L
Boston	W
Tampa Bay	L
Tampa Bay	W
@Baltimore	L
@Baltimore	W
@Baltimore	W
@Toronto	L
@Toronto	W
@Toronto	L
Record from 4/30- 5/14	7-7
Overall Record as of May 14th	18-16*

If this were to hold true then 2 weeks from tomorrow the Rays would only trail the Red Sox by 3.5 games, while trailing the Yankees by 1.5 games.

So, despite all the pessimism and uproar of the first 3 weeks of the season, if this highly plausible outcome were to actually occur the Rays would find themselves right back in the hunt as they headed into the end of May. Of course if the Rays continue their inconsistent play and only win 4 or 5 of those 14 games then they might as well start shaking things up in the lineup because their hopes will be fading fast. Carl Crawford fast, no Usain Bolt fast.

*The May 3rd Yankees v. Angels game (which I predicted as a NY loss) was postponed, so I've adjusted their record accordingly by taking away one loss from my projected standings as of May 14th.